Michael Schumacher’s Record Breaking 2003 Ferrari F1 Car To Be Auctioned Next Month
Highlights
- Michael Schumacher won his sixth F1 World Championship in the F2003-GA.
- He won 6 races in 2003, 5 of which were with chassis no. 229.
- Chassis no. 229 will be auctioned by RM Sotheby's on November 9, 2022.
One of the most significant cars from Michael Schumacher’s Formula 1 story is soon to be auctioned - the Ferrari F2003-GA. Michael Schumacher won 7 World Championships, and 5 of those were with Scuderia Ferrari. So, why is this particular car special? Well, the car in question - chassis no. 229 to be exact - was the one Michael Schumacher drove to 5 of 6 victories in 2003, and it helped him beat Kimi Raikkonnen in the 2003 Formula 1 World Championship by 2 points. But what’s more significant was that this was his 6th World Championship victory, which helped him surpass Juan Manuel Fangio’s 46-year old record of 5 World Championship victories, hence the significance.
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Here's Mick Schumacher driving the F2003-GA
The F2003-GA was an evolution of Ferrari’s dominant F2002. The GA suffix to the name was to honour the recently passed Fiat boss, Gianni Agnelli. It secured 8 victories throughout the 2003 season, with two of them coming the way of Rubens Barrichello, and the rest to Schumacher. Chassis 229 was involved in 5 of these victories, those being at Spain, Austria, Canada, Italy, and the USA. The car also helped Schumacher secure 2 more podiums at Monaco & France, 3 pole positions, and 4 fastest laps. Designed by Rory Byrne & Ross Brawn, the F2003-GA also helped Ferrari secure its 5th Constructor’s Championship in a row.
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The F2003-GA on auction is track-ready, and it gets a 830 bhp 3.0-litre V10 engine that can rev up to 19,000 rpm.
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Powering the Formula 1 car is one of the last V10 engines ever to be used in F1. The 3,000 cc engine could spool up to an ear-drum shattering 19,000 rpm, and it made 930 bhp along the way. The chassis 229 that will be auctioned on November 9, 2022, is in track-ready condition, and was also driven by Michael Schumacher’s son Mick Schumacher, who is also a Formula 1 driver, currently racing for Haas F1 team.